Life is all about the little moments and the little things, I share mine here in my Castle of Dreams

Springing around the House! Chinoiserie Chic & 1st Dibs obsession !

Spring at homeIt’s been a few weeks since I’ve changed some things at home to make it feel more Spring like. I’m always happy to bring back any blue and white accents especially anything Chinoiserie. Such a classic that will never go out of style. I wasn’t going to share my spring “decor” because it is really very simple, nothing special, and that is kind of how I like it.

We are going through some changes at home and there is not time or special desire to decorate, but it is specially during trying times that we need the most that our homes cheer us up every time we are in there. My mother in law is 96 years old and has Alzheimer’s and Dementia. With the help of her medications she is doing remarkable well, especially now that she has moved home with us. We kept her at her home the longest time possible, first with some help and later on with permanent help.

One day we realized that we couldn’t postpone it any longer, she had to move to a home where she could be monitored at all times. It is heart wrenching to see all the people there that once had full lives and families and are now reduced to not only a room but to solitude and silence and in some cases total abandonment… My mother in law seemed to be the only one getting visits and when asked, the personnel confirmed that impression….no totally but in many cases that was the reality…. I won’t go any further with this subject, it’s not the purpose of this post and I don’t want to make anybody who is taking a break reading this, sad. This is temporal and she will have to return to a home but the time she is spending with us now has made her blossom. Her skin is rosier and she has no bed sores anymore…. Her appetite is excellent, like it was before and she is enjoying her home cooked meals with pleasure. The red puffiness around her eyes has gone down greatly and she seems more alert and happy.

It is not the fresh decor and colors what make home pretty and happy but the gorgeous light that comes through the windows, inundating the house with happiness and warmth. The fact that we can open windows and let fresh air in, is something we can’t buy with money! It’s a celebration of life! grass grows a fresh carpet everywhere and trees are dressed in bright, greens and dewy leaves, flowers grow everywhere at ease and days start earlier and last longer and longer everyday! -The best color palettes are found in nature, green covering everything against bright blue skies with some sprinkles of white…Perfection!

I’m learning to edit better with these dark pictures..

No, design or decor are not going to make home feel like HOME, but they sure help a lot! Bringing some nature inside, like flowers and flowering branches, changing accent pillows, perhaps slipcovering sofas in cotton or linen… Moving things around the house -like my bedroom lamps are now spending Spring in the living room- The right color palette and furniture placement can work wonders in our spaces. Furniture placement could be life altering, no kidding! and bring the biggest transformations in front of our eyes.

We spend time and money in coloring our hair every few weeks (well, not actually me…I’ve stopped and have been looking like hell for a while..I hope it pays off and I will look splendid in fifty shades of gray soon! 😉 ) -but neglect to invest in painting our rooms or even a single wall the right color, we run to the salon to have a well deserved pedicure and manicure and to the mall to get pretty sandals and outfits… but sometimes we forget to do the same for our homes. Maybe is doubt what stops us, not being able to make up our minds or maybe is that we are stuck in a route. We get help for the kids for math and music, why can’t we get help with decorating our homes? At the end it saves money and lots of time and frustration, and makes a huge difference in our everyday lives!

We are moving to Florida in a few months, to be closer to family. I’ll be traveling in a week there and will stay two months so I won’t be around much … Still, now it feels like Spring in the house and it make me smile every time I arrive home or just walk around! Winter is always too long.I think that Indian goddess is gesturing “call me” right?!!!light will always be a problem here…Battling with bad light for these pictures….

Yes she is.

India, China and Iran, living in perfect harmony, like in Michael Jackson’s and Paul McCartney’s song, Ebony and IvoryBlanc de ChineDancing Queen!.I bought that table in an auction, a long, long time ago, it was a farm kitchen table all full of dirt and oil marks…. we had somebody cut the legs and clean it up and has kept me company for a while…Better with a big tray?!..Some pieces I would love to own in a far away la la land! From First Dibs: Blanc de Chine, figure of Guanyin, Qing dynasty. $9,500. It seems to be the dollar sign but I’m a little afraid they meant Euros. Not that it would make any difference, of course!Large chinese blue and white porcelain bowl, qing dynasty, Kangxi period “Of octagonal panelled form, vividly painted in underglaze-blue with alternating figural and landscape scenes, including pine, prunus, chrysanthemum and carp, the interior with a central roundel enclosing a figure of a scholar within a further panelled border containing millet, prunus, bamboo, lotus, birds and insects” onlinegalleries.com Price: GBP 16,000.00 (Pound Sterling)Antique Japanese box in black lacquered wood. $4,800Cabinet in the Wardrobe in the State Apartments at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. The eighteenth-century black and gold japanned cabinet has open shelves to display porcelain, and is attributed to John Linnell. Founded in Theporcelainsleuth.com

Chinese export reverse blue and white baluster jar, $2,000I love this table I found SOLD already in an auction…. Carved Chinese coffee table, mahogany, handcrafted with mortise and tenon construction.Pair of Chinese turquoise glazed foo dogs on Ormolu mounts, 1stdibs, $7,517.47Ralph Lauren, I’ve been in love with this table for a few years! Cannes Gueridon Table and porcelain table lamp. The coffee cup and saucer and roses are beyond! just BEYOND!

And that’s it! I had fun “shopping” at 1stdibs! What an amazing place… and it was free. Like Coco Chanel said, “The best things in life are free, the second best are very, very expensive”!!! I agree. That’s why I always choose the best, it is free. Have a very good Friday and weekend and pay it forward. Always.